Camry gets 'poor' rating in new crash test

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that in new corner crash tests Toyota’s Camry, the top-selling midsize car in the United States, came up short for a “Top Safety Pick-Plus” rating. Photo Credit: Handout

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The Camry still did well on the institute's other four tests and earned a "Top Safety Pick" designation. But it failed to get a "Top Safety Pick-Plus" rating because of the bad performance on the new "small overlap" test of corner crashes.

The Camry is a popular model on Long Island, where more than 98,000 were registered last year.

Toyota said in a statement that IIHS has raised the bar with the new test, exceeding U.S. government requirements. But the company said it will respond to the challenge.

"We are evaluating the new test protocols and can say that there will not be one single solution to achieve greater crash performance in this area," the statement said.

Through November, Toyota has sold more than 373,000 Camrys in the United States. It is the top-selling car in the country almost every year.

Both the Prius V and Camry performed well in moderate front-end crash tests, and side-impact, roof-strength and rear-impact tests, the institute said.

Moderately priced midsize cars outperformed midsize luxury cars in the new test, the institute said. The only midsize luxury cars to earn a "Top Safety Pick-Plus" award were the Acura TL and Volvo S60.